在微軟(Microsoft) 新操作系統(tǒng)Windows 8發(fā)表前夕，一位資深的PC產(chǎn)業(yè)界專家 Joshua Shapiro 表示，微軟將開始推動(dòng)使用字節(jié)碼直譯器(interpreter)為其 Win 8 撰寫的應(yīng)用程序，而非使用x86編譯器，而這意味著新操作系統(tǒng)將終結(jié)傳統(tǒng)PC時(shí)代，以及一些僅專注于制造PC的OEM廠商。 Windows 8本質(zhì)上是兩種環(huán)境──可執(zhí)行針對x86架構(gòu)所寫之應(yīng)用程序的傳統(tǒng)Windows 操作系統(tǒng)，以及之前稱之為 Metro 的全新 run-time 環(huán)境，可針對x86或ARM處理器直譯字節(jié)碼。 Shapiro 聲稱，隨著時(shí)間的推移，微軟將逐漸淡出傳統(tǒng)PC和針對x86架構(gòu)編譯的應(yīng)用程序，而更加側(cè)重在類似iPad的平板電腦上，如該公司的 Surface 及其直譯式應(yīng)用程序。轉(zhuǎn)而支持類似iPad的平板電腦，如微軟的Surface和解釋應(yīng)用程序。這有點(diǎn)類似當(dāng)初推動(dòng) Windows 并逐步舍棄 DOS 的過程。 “PC產(chǎn)業(yè)在傳統(tǒng)計(jì)算機(jī)領(lǐng)域的投資可說是盤根錯(cuò)節(jié)，”Shapiro說，他曾在IBM工作14年，現(xiàn)在是專業(yè)的顧問和企業(yè)家?！盎旧希④浭墙逵?Metro和 Windows 8 逐步遠(yuǎn)離傳統(tǒng)PC，簡單來說就是任它自生自滅，”他表示。 PC制造商在未來幾年內(nèi)將會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們原本就已經(jīng)微薄的利潤，將因?yàn)镻C軟件領(lǐng)域的缺乏投資而消失殆盡。他接著指出，“你已經(jīng)可以看到惠普和戴爾的例子了，他們都在逃離PC。” “在我看來，你必須去刺激PC軟件開發(fā)，但今天只有計(jì)算機(jī)游戲玩家才這樣做，他們也是唯一針對傳統(tǒng)PC不斷開發(fā)軟件的一群，”Shapiro說?！耙?yàn)闆]有好處，所以也沒有人愿意再投下資金去開發(fā)支持傳統(tǒng)PC的軟件，他們現(xiàn)在大多只支持各式各樣的新型應(yīng)用程序開發(fā)?！? Windows 8或遭多數(shù)企業(yè)用戶冷落 曾幾何時(shí)，微軟每次發(fā)布新的Windows操作系統(tǒng)，對很多企業(yè)的科技部門來說是一件大事。但這種情況已不復(fù)存在。微軟周五舉行的新的Windows 8操作系統(tǒng)發(fā)布活動(dòng)，對絕大多數(shù)企業(yè)來說很可能無足輕重，而很多專家也表示，大量企業(yè)或許永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)采用這一新系統(tǒng)。 Windows 8看起來似乎對每個(gè)人都有吸引之處：觸屏功能可滿足平板電腦愛好者需求，新的用戶界面迎合年輕人口味，多種不同版本使其與傳統(tǒng)個(gè)人電腦（PC）軟件兼容。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 本文下一頁：企業(yè)客戶為何漠不關(guān)心？

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{pagination} 不過很多企業(yè)卻表示，并沒有足夠的理由讓他們部署這一系統(tǒng)。確實(shí)，大量企業(yè)甚至都未將Windows XP升級為Windows 7。 “坦白地說，Windows 8更多是一個(gè)消費(fèi)者平臺(tái)而非企業(yè)平臺(tái)，所以從企業(yè)角度而言，當(dāng)前（升級）并無任何意義。我所看到的是，Windows 8并未帶來新的企業(yè)功能，”美國銀行家協(xié)會(huì)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)管理政策負(fù)責(zé)人Doug Johnson表示。該協(xié)會(huì)成員是科技產(chǎn)品采購主力之一。 在過去20年中的絕大部分時(shí)間里，這種對新Windows系統(tǒng)的評論可能引發(fā)微軟總部的恐慌。但如今不會(huì)了。Windows 8的成敗將取決于消費(fèi)市場的反應(yīng)。 這并不意味著，微軟高管公開表示將放棄他們新版旗艦產(chǎn)品對企業(yè)客戶的拓展。 “消費(fèi)者與企業(yè)之間的界限正變得模糊，”微軟企業(yè)及合作夥伴集團(tuán)負(fù)責(zé)人Ron Markezich說道。“企業(yè)客戶期待著Windows 8，因?yàn)樗麄儾恍枰谄桨咫娔X和傳統(tǒng)PC間做妥協(xié)?！? 但微軟的主要目標(biāo)是，向外界展示其能夠掌控由蘋果和谷歌開創(chuàng)的觸控優(yōu)化、便攜式電子產(chǎn)品。微軟色彩豐富、激情洋溢的Windows 8廣告，瞄準(zhǔn)了年輕和崇尚自由的群體；而其Surface平板電腦也定位為消費(fèi)設(shè)備。 企業(yè)客戶漠不關(guān)心 盡管Windows 8測試版已經(jīng)發(fā)布逾一年時(shí)間，企業(yè)客戶對其依然漠不關(guān)心。 大眾汽車去年在公司6萬臺(tái)PC上部署了Windows 7，眼下并不打算很快再次進(jìn)行大規(guī)模升級。 大眾IT部門主管Martin Eickhoff稱，他的團(tuán)隊(duì)“對于評估新的平板電腦功能很興奮”，但會(huì)等到Windows 8發(fā)布之后，以便確認(rèn)可能帶來的好處。 而這并不反常，因?yàn)槠髽I(yè)在采用某個(gè)新系統(tǒng)之前一般會(huì)測試12-18個(gè)月，也就是說，企業(yè)對大多數(shù)版本W(wǎng)indows系統(tǒng)的部署通常發(fā)生在產(chǎn)品發(fā)布后的2-3年后。微軟不受歡迎的Windows Vista不屬此列。 然而這一次，即便上述情景都可能不會(huì)出現(xiàn)。 科技研究公司Gartner分析師Michael Silver認(rèn)為，在Windows 8的生命周期內(nèi)，其部署率可能非常低。他說：“我們認(rèn)為，90%的大型企業(yè)將不會(huì)大范圍部署Windows 8，在最好的時(shí)候，大型企業(yè)可能僅有20%的PC使用Windows 8?！? 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯： Joy Teng 參考英文原文：Entrepreneur says Win 8 marks end of PCs，by Rick Merritt

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{pagination} Entrepreneur says Win 8 marks end of PCs Rick Merritt SAN JOSE, Calif. – On the eve of the release of Windows 8, a veteran PC executive claims the new operating system marks the beginning of the end for PCs and the OEMs who make them. Still, Joshua Shapiro said he has a technique to enable mass customization of software loads on PCs he says could help revive the platform. Windows 8 includes essentially two environments—the traditional Windows operating system that runs apps complied for the x86 and a new run-time environment formerly called Metro that interprets byte codes for either x86 or ARM processors. Shapiro claims over time Microsoft will deemphasize traditional desktops and their compiled x86 apps in favor of iPad-like tablets like Microsoft Surface and their interpreted apps. The move parallels how Windows initially included then later discarded DOS. “Everyone invested in [traditional PCs] is screwed,” said Shapiro, who spent 14 years at IBM before becoming a consultant and entrepreneur. “With Metro and Windows 8, Microsoft is essentially walking away from the PC and leaving it to die,” he said. Companies who make PCs will see their already thin margins wither away over the next few years from a lack of investment in PC software, he argued. “You can already see the train wreck in HP and Dell—rather than defending the PC, they are running away from it,” he said. “It’s my contention you need to stimulate PC software development, but the only group doing that today is the computer gamers—they have the only software that comes close to stressing a PC,” said Shapiro. “Nobody wants to develop for the PC anymore because there is no money in it, and VCs won’t support PC software startups because they only support apps now,” he said. PC salvage? Shapiro believes his company, Imbue, could help revive the PC software industry. Imbue has a patented method for quickly loading software on PCs that he claimed enables OEMs to offer custom software images to consumers. Unbundling software OEMs currently load a handful of standard software bundles on PCs, often including programs of marginal use to consumers that software developers pay OEMs to include. Shapiro claims using his software, OEMs could offer a unique service to download exactly what a consumer chooses from a vast and open PC app store. The Imbue process uses a technique of erasing the unwanted software from a master image by erasing its metadata. The technique on which the company has five granted and 12 pending patents is more than an order of magnitude faster than the current method OEMs use for loading each program sequentially. “There’s a tremendous amount of convenience to having the desired software pre-loaded and you can have this done economically now,” Shapiro said. “I was in a major manufacturing facility last month, and depending on the model and configuration, [loading software] takes two to four hours typically and six to10 hours for some special configurations." Shapiro declined to share commercial terms of licensing Imbue's technology. “We are initially looking for a single large entity that would benefit by having and exclusive on this process, but I would consider an alternative of working with a consortium,” he said.